The power of the teacher unions
Wearing pastels doesn't make Darth Vador any less evil and talking about "the children" doesn't make unions any less self-interested.
Not only do the teacher unions have more power and influence than the largest corporations on earth, but they protect bad teachers in the classrooms and block meaningful reforms that benefit students. Bad teachers pay dues and, well, education reforms decentralize power and reduce union influence.
Read the Education Next article titled "Invisible Ink in Teacher Contracts" to learn more about the power and influence of the teacher unions.
Read more4 in 5 young workers think they won't receive ANY benefits from Social Security
Alternative headline: Young people paying more attention than we give them credit for.
Overall, six in 10 workers think they won't receive any benefits from Social Security, but the breakdown by age is very telling.
Now, liberals like to claim that Social Security is fine, because it has a trust fund of $2.5 trillion. But in a way only government could manage (without getting arrested like Bernie Madoff), the trust fund is "worth" $2.5 trillion, but that's $2.5 trillion is in treasury notes, which will have to be paid back by the same federal government that's running a $13 trillion deficit and has unfunded liabilities in other federal programs of over $100 trillion.
Cato's Michael Tanner explains:
Thanks to the economic downturn, Social Security is running a temporary cash-flow deficit today. That deficit will turn permanent in just six years. Of course, in theory, the Social Security Trust Fund will pay benefits until 2037. That's not much comfort to today's 35-year-olds, who have faithfully paid into the program their entire working lives but will face an automatic 27 percent cut in benefits unless the program is reformed before they retire.Some may say it's extreme to want to change Social Security, but if we don't reform, revise or privatize it, Social Security will eliminate itself under a crushing burden of debt and promises the government can't pay for.
But even that figure is misleading, because the Trust Fund contains no actual assets. The government bonds it holds are simply a form of IOU, a measure of how much money the government owes the system. It says nothing about where the government will get the money to pay back those IOUs.
Even if Congress can find a way to redeem the bonds, the Trust Fund surplus will be completely exhausted by 2037. At that point, Social Security will have to rely solely on revenue from the payroll tax - and that won't be sufficient to pay all promised benefits. Overall, the amount the system has promised beyond what it can actually pay now totals $15.8 trillion.
Moreover, Social Security taxes are already so high, relative to benefits, that Social Security has simply become a bad deal for younger workers, providing a low, below-market rate of return. Many young workers will end up paying more in taxes than they receive in benefits. They will actually lose money under the program.
And contrary to widespread belief, workers do not actually own their Social Security benefits. They are left totally dependent on the goodwill of the 535 politicians in Congress to determine what they'll receive in retirement. Benefits are not inheritable, and the program is a barrier to wealth accumulation. The program unfairly penalizes African Americans, working women, and others. In short, it is a program crying out for reform.
At least most young people know it's coming.
Unemployment
From 1976 until the start of the Great Recession in December 2007, Nevada's unemployment rate was, on average, 0.1 points lower than the national average. Over the last two and a half years, however, unemployment has climbed dramatically in Nevada, even setting a record for the BLS monthly state unemployment series. What happened?
Clearly the housing bubble played a large role. Nevada, like California, Florida and Arizona, enjoyed a massive housing and construction boom that collapsed like a house of cards. But that isn't all. The drop in tourists' disposable income is also hurting the Silver State. However, the overlooked culprit is probably the Nevada Legislature. Nevada's legislature implemented two of the state's largest tax hikes in state history within one single decade.
Taking money from wealth-producing sectors of the economy to prop up wealth-consuming sectors (like the government) is very likely lengthening the economic troubles in Nevada.
Tax study sent into hiding until after the election
Liberal legislators attempting to hide their desire to raise taxes.
Last week over at NPRI.org, Geoffrey Lawrence asked where the legislature's tax study had gone. (Geoff's commentary also contains a good summary on how liberals are trying to use the tax study as political cover for raising taxes.)
For months, lawmakers, political candidates and the public have awaited the first report of the Nevada Vision Stakeholder Group and the firm hired by select legislators for an associated tax study.Now we know - liberals have driven the tax study into hiding, and it most likely won't emerge until after election day.
However, the report - contractually due July 1 - is nowhere to be found. ...
Predictably, political candidates are already hiding behind the not-yet-delivered NVSG/Moody's recommendations for higher taxes in order to avoid revealing their own stance on the higher-taxes issue. Most notably, gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid has said he is waiting on those recommendations before taking a position.
Now, in an interesting twist, the initial report by Moody's has been delayed indefinitely. Legislative staffers say the contract - which set July 1, 2010 for the initial report's delivery - is being amended to reflect this delay. However, they are mum on any new timetable, while news reports say the report's publication may be delayed until after the November elections. Clearly that would mean higher-tax proponents don't want to level with Nevada voters.
July 1 has passed with neither a strategy for improving quality-of-life indicators nor a completed tax analysis. In fact, legislative staff is renegotiating a contract with the firm that was hired, Moody's Analytics, and a divided Vision Stakeholders Committee is at a standstill. ...Ah yes, only in government would you pay more for a late product. And why is this delay politically helpful for those who want to take more of your money next year?
Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Lorne Malkiewich said last week it's unlikely both the committee report and tax analysis will be done before the Nov. 2 election. His staff is negotiating a contract extension he hopes won't cost the state more money.
The deadline for the report and the study would be staggered, and could stretch past November.
This delay could provide political cover for candidates, particularly state Senate candidates backed by the Senate Democrats. Had the study come out with recommendations for a broad-based tax increase, those candidates would be forced to take a position. That could be incendiary in a year Democrats are desperately trying to hold on to their slim majority in the Senate.Legislators who lie to or mislead voters about their intention to raise taxes should be ashamed of themselves and taken to task by the voters. As Brian Greenspun says, "From that I learned politicians who have only a seat to lose - no bodily injury at risk - can and should be equally candid with the voters."
Coming tomorrow: why liberal legislators likely orchestrated this delay - choosing their political advantage over leveling with the public on their plans to try and raise taxes in 2011.
Why real alternative teacher certification matters
It matters because genuine alternative teacher certification puts better teachers into the classroom, and as many studies have shown, teacher quality is the most important school-based factor in student achievement.
A great story in Sunday's Las Vegas Sun shows why Nevada needs more than a "symbolic" alternative teacher certification process.
Ira Madnikoff seemed to be just the kind of social studies teacher the Clark County School District was eager to hire. He came from Florida with four years' experience and a strong track record, and he had a law degree to boot.So where did Madnikoff go? A private school - the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin - hired him.
But when Madnikoff went to the Nevada Education Department's Las Vegas office in 2007 to see about getting a teaching license, he was in for a shock - in the eyes of the Silver State, he wasn't qualified. The Clark County principals who had expressed interest in bringing him on board were out of luck. ...
Until recently, Nevada has not offered reciprocity to teachers who went through alternative licensing programs in other states on the grounds that the expedited process didn't meet Nevada's standards.
That's where Madnikoff ran into trouble.
In Florida, Madnikoff's bachelor's degree in criminal justice, completing additional education classes and passing the required competency exams were enough to satisfy that state's alternative licensing requirements. In Nevada, however, his college classes apparently didn't qualify him to teach social studies to grades six through 12. His law degree won him no extra credit. And Madnikoff said he never got a straight answer as to what classes would help him make up the deficit.
His law degree, and his experience teaching high school honors and Advanced Placement classes, were considered a plus by the private school, which has allowed him to develop advanced curriculum to challenge his students.The next time someone complains that we're not spending enough on education in Nevada, remind that person that more money will only encourage poor policy, not change it, and that there are real reforms in place all around the country that improve student achievement and don't cost more money. Substantive alternative teacher certification is just one of those many changes.
Nevada's unemployment rate hits record 14.2 percent
New numbers from the state Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation show unemployment of 14.2 percent statewide in June, up from 14.1 percent in May. Joblessness in Las Vegas surged to 14.5 percent, up from 14.1 percent in May.All other states' jobless data won't be out until Tuesday, so it's not clear whether the Silver State will retain the No. 1 ranking it grabbed from Michigan in May. But Michigan officials have already announced that the Great Lakes State posted a jobless rate in June of 13.2 percent, down from 13.6 percent in May.
Nationally, unemployment fell from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent from May to June, though economists credited much of that drop to discouraged workers giving up the hunt for jobs. ...
And it's likely that Nevada will once again have the nation's highest unemployment rate.
Of course, the Obama and Reid stimulus was supposed to prevent all this, but it's been such an epic failure that even Vice President Joe Biden is going on TV and making easily disproven excuses for its miserable performance.
The problem with liberal ideas isn't that they aren't big enough. The problem with liberal ideas is that ideas have consequences and that, as history shows, liberal ideas have bad consequences.
Brian Greenspun risks 'bodily harm,' talks with a conservative, comes to partially correct conclusion
Do these people make you afraid?That title sounds like hyperbole, doesn't it? And I would agree, except that that's exactly how Brian Greenspun framed his column in Sunday's Las Vegas Sun.
I no longer feel sorry for good and decent politicians who honestly believe that they must "shade the truth" or, in the vernacular, tell a lie when asked by their constituents whether they, like those who run against them, will promise the voters something for nothing."Bodily harm" sounds serious, doesn't it? I thought Brian was going to reveal that he talked politics while confronting an armed robber or preventing a carjacking. Nope. Instead, he talked to his ... errr ... personal rolfer while getting a massage. I'd give you the funny parts here, but for three things.
There is no question that the voters are in the kind of mood today that demands politicians adhere to the "no new tax" pledge that seems to be the litmus test for any elected office. Voters, for good reason after years of seeing bloated government and ever-decreasing services, have resorted to a black-and-white process when it comes to their votes.
If you favor increasing taxes, you are out. If you pledge to hold the line or even reduce them, you are almost a shoo-in - practically with no other experience or prior qualifications needed.
And although I agree that no good government comes from attitudes like those I have described, I still don't feel sorry for politicians who won't come clean. They owe it to the voters to tell them the truth, even if it means defeat at the polls and results in really bad government for the people. I say this because I have taken a much greater risk to tell the truth to a voter. I have risked bodily harm - and I survived. So, if I can tell the truth, so should any politician who wants my vote. [Emphasis added]
First, the piece is so hilarious you should read the whole thing just for the belly laughs.
Second, I feel bad for Brian. Can you imagine publicly claiming you exhibited bravery for talking to your own (presumably contracted) employee and self-identified friend?
Third, I strongly agree with this part of Brian's conclusion - politicians "can and should be equally candid with the voters."
Liberals should let Nevadans know that in the next session, they plan on trying to pass a corporate income tax, which is the most volatile of all the major state taxes.
Unfortunately, the legislature has delayed the release of its tax study and likely won't put it out until after the election. This means that liberal legislators are trying to keep the public in the dark about their plans to raise taxes until after the election.
So today, I stand with Brian Greenspun and call on the legislative leadership - starting with Sen. Horsford and Assemblyman Oceguera - to be honest with the public about their plans to raise taxes in the 2011 Legislative Session.
To quote Greenspun:
"From that I learned politicians who have only a seat to lose - no bodily injury at risk - can and should be equally candid with the voters."
Horsford opposes the Modified Business Tax?
From a press release by Right Pride:
Right Pride calls on State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford to back up comments with actionsI haven't been able to find the release on Right Pride's website, but if I do, I'll post a link. Also, I've contact Sen. Horsford for comment. I will post his response as soon as and if I get it.
Mark Ciavola, President "Given Senator Horsford's newfound desire to protect Nevada business owners from oppressive taxation, Right Pride calls on Senator Horsford to sponsor and shepherd through a bill in the 2011 legislative session to repeal the modified business tax."
(Las Vegas, NV) - Today, Right Pride called on State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford to back up comments he made at a Lambda Business & Professional Association luncheon on Wednesday concerning Nevada's modified business tax. During an election forum, Sen. Horsford blamed Republicans for implementing the state's tax in 2003, expressing opposition to it on the grounds that it taxes businesses regardless of their ability to pay. [Emphasis added] The tax was roughly doubled during the 2009 legislative session as part of the largest single-session tax increase in Nevada's history, pushed through by Democrats including Horsford.
"We support Senator Horsford's new position on the modified business tax," said Mark Ciavola, president of Right Pride, Nevada's only organization representing gay conservatives and their allies. "Continuing to target businesses with new taxes will stunt our economic recovery by preventing business owners from putting Nevadans back to work."
Senator Horsford, speaking to an audience of gay and lesbian business owners, also denied that he sponsored a bill (SB 432) designed to ensure Nevada is prepared to implement a net profits tax, business transaction tax or any alternative business tax, which now sits in the Committee on Finance.
"Given Senator Horsford's newfound desire to protect Nevada business owners from oppressive taxation, Right Pride calls on Senator Horsford to sponsor and shepherd through a bill in the 2011 legislative session to repeal the modified business tax," Ciavola concluded.
This could be great news for taxpayers, because Sen. Horsford is exactly right that the modified business tax is terrible for businesses - it's essentially a payroll tax and it punishes business that seek to add workers or increase their pay.
Unfortunately, based on his past actions, Sen. Horsford is likely to want to replace the modified business tax with a corporate income tax. As NPRI and the Tax Foundation have pointed out, however, a corporate income tax is the most volatile of the state taxes and will exacerbate Nevada's boom-and-bust cycle.
Or Sen. Horsford could simply have been posturing in front of business owners who know first hand about the destructive power of taxes.
For the sake of Nevada's taxpayers and his own integrity, let's hope Sen. Horsford really has seen the light on the destructive impact of the Modified Business Tax.
Union hires nonunion employees to protest contractor using nonunion labor
Hypocrisy, thy name art labor unions.
Billy Raye, a 51-year-old unemployed bike courier, is looking for work.My favorite part: The union paid the nonunion picketers minimum wage. Oh, and it gets better. Here's how the union tries to defend itself.
Fortunately for him, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters is seeking paid demonstrators to march and chant in its current picket line outside the McPherson Building, an office complex here where the council says work is being done with nonunion labor.
"For a lot of our members, it's really difficult to have them come out, either because of parking or something else," explains Vincente Garcia, a union representative who is supervising the picketing.
So instead, the union hires unemployed people at the minimum wage - $8.25 an hour - to walk picket lines. Mr. Raye says he's grateful for the work, even though he's not sure why he's doing it. "I could care less," he says. "I am being paid to march around and sound off."
The union's Mr. Garcia sees no conflict in a union that insists on union labor hiring nonunion people to protest the hiring of nonunion labor.So this union thinks that the minimum wage is a fair wage? Good to know.
He says the pickets are not only about "union issues" but also about fair wages and benefits for American workers. By hiring the unemployed, "we are also giving back to the community a bit," he says.
I think a principled union should pay its union employees to protest the first union hiring nonunion employees.
Any nominations for a principled union? Bueller? Bueller?
Usain bolts Britain over high taxes
Usain Bolt runs away from higher taxes.
Just another reminder that taxation change behavior.
Organisers of next month's Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace had hoped to stage the first 100 metres head-to-head of the season between Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell but the triple Olympic champion is set to shun the meeting because it would expose him to a huge tax bill.And speaking of taxes influencing an athlete's behavior, should we really have been surprised that LeBron choose no-income-tax Florida over states with an income tax like New York, Ohio and Illinois? No.
Unless the tax rules are relaxed, athletics administrators fear British fans will be denied the chance to see the sport's biggest star in action again until he returns to the capital in two years' time to defend his Olympic titles.
"I wouldn't be optimistic about seeing Bolt compete on British soil this year and there is a strong chance he won't be back until 2012," said an insider close to the negotiations with the Jamaican.
Since April, foreign sports stars competing in Britain are liable for a top rate of income tax of 50 per cent but, controversially, the tax is charged not just on the money they earn in Britain but on a proportion of their worldwide sponsorship income.
(h/t Michelle Malkin)
